Taper Time Changes

Well, it's official--the taper is here! Technically my Boston taper started last week but with the Cherry Blossom race, a midweek medium long run, and a track workout, it didn't feel like a light week.  This week's drop in mileage, however, should be a whole lot more noticeable.

Now that I'm cutting back my mileage, I've made some other changes in my routine to make sure I'm at my best on Marathon Monday.

1. More Sleep - I'm usually pretty good at getting a full night's sleep on weeknights, but come weekends I let myself stay up later. From now until the race, however, I'm sticking to an early bedtime. Having an established routine will help come the night before when I'm desperately trying to fall asleep.

2. More Vegetables - I do eat a lot of vegetables already, but during the taper I try and replace more carbs and fats with vegetables. Since I'm not running 70 miles, I don't need the same amount of food. I find I eat more sensibly when I just temporarily replace some other foods with fruits and veggies.

3. No Alcohol - Starting three weeks out I cut out all booze. This serves two real purposes, it helps me keep caloric intake in check as I cut down my mileage and it helps me get more or at least better sleep.

4. Dialing Down Cross-Training - Cutting back on running doesn't mean anything if I just pick up the intensity on cross-training. I usually cut out cross-training two weeks before and cut out strength training one week before.

All my trameframes listed above are subjective. They're what has worked for me in the past so I'm sticking to them this cycle. If you've got different changes that you make, or different schedules for incorporating similar changes, I'd love to hear them!
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Today's Run: 9.1 at 7:56 pace.

What I Talk About When I Talk About Rowing

A Harlem River Regatta

I know I mentioned a few posts ago that I would talk about rowing--well now I'm making good on that threat. I've recently started to incorporate rowing into my training, not as a substitute but as a supplement and now I’m a big proponent of the benefits of running and rowing.

I don’t think every runner needs cross-training—I have gone large periods of time without doing any exercise other than running—but if you can find time to work it into your schedule, I think it can definitely aid your running. [Note: I AM NOT a healthcare professional or a certified anything so I offer this all as my opinion—take from it what you will].

Let’s talk about why rowing is great (I’m speaking about an indoor rower, but I assume this is all true for real rowing too):

1. It’s non-impact. If you use proper rowing technique, you can get a great cardio workout while giving your joints a chance to recover. That means, generally, you can row without compromising your recovery during a busy training week.

2. It can improve your posture. A lot of runners have terrible posture—I am definitely no exception. Rowing helps strengthen your core and back leading to better posture and better running form!

3. It works your whole body. Rowing works your legs, back, core, and your arms all at the same time. As someone who doesn’t like (and ergo rarely does) weight-lifting, rowing lets me get in a little upper body work.

4. It improves your flexibility. Running tends to leave your muscles pretty tight (especially if, like me, you frequently “forget” to stretch). The large range of motion in rowing actually improves the flexibility in the hamstrings and calves.

How do I incorporate rowing? I add it in as a recovery workout 2 to 3 nights a week. I typically row 5000m but I’ve been doing this for long enough to have worked up to that point. Rowing is tough stuff started out so I would recommend starting by setting a time goal for yourself and selecting a lower resistance like a 3 or 4.

Below the jump is an excerpt from an Active.com article detailing proper technique.